HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Sports betting activity leaped by almost one-third in Pennsylvania’s fourth full month, as more venues opened amid March Madness. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said Monday that gamblers bet $44.5 million in March at six casinos and two off-track betting parlors where it has approved sports betting. That was above $31.5 million bet in February, which had three fewer days.

THE CENTER TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS HAVE APPROVED A LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

BCTA ADMINISTERS THE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR BEAVER COUNTY. THAT’S THE PROGRAM THAT MAKES TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE TO LOW INCOME CLIENTS WHO REQUIRE TRANSPORTATION SERVICE TO AND FROM MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS. BUT ACCORDING TO BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO, A BILL RECENTLY INTRODUCED IN THE STATE HOUSE WOULD CHANGE THAT…

A grand jury report says law enforcement and government regulators need new tools to effectively combat fraud within Pennsylvania’s sprawling Medicaid program. The report made public Monday says community based health-service programs can be “easily manipulated to facilitate fraud” because they lack supervision, training and oversight. The jurors say the person who provides a service should be named in requests for reimbursement and requests should include the time the service was provided.

State Rep. Rob Matzie today joined colleagues on the House Consumer Affairs Committee in ongoing public hearings to consider a bill that would add nuclear energy to the list of alternative energy sources benefiting from ratepayer-subsidized credits. Matzie, who is Democratic chairman of the committee and co-chairman of the bi-partisan, bi-cameral Nuclear Energy Caucus, heard testimony from industry representatives on the potential impacts of H.B. 11, which would require that utilities purchase an additional 50 percent of energy credits from nuclear power plants…

As the committee weighs the bill, Matzie cited the importance of a thorough vetting process that includes open dialog and transparency…

The bill in question would amend the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act – which requires that 18 percent of power sold in Pennsylvania be derived from alternative energy sources by 2021 – by adding a “zero-emission power” category reserved for the state’s nuclear power plants…

Without any action, two of those plants – including FirstEnergy’s Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Plant – are scheduled to shut down within the next few years…

SHELL AND CCBC ARE AGAIN TEAMING UP TO OFFER A CAREER EXPO AIMED AT MILITARY VETERANS. THE EVENT WILL BE HELD FROM 6 TO 8 P-M MAY 7TH IN CCBC’S STUDENT SERVICES CENTER. THOSE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING ARE ENCOURAGED TO REGISTER ON CCBC’S WEBSITE. HUNDREDS OF PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS TURNED OUT FOR A SIMILAR EVENT LAST MAY.

Pennsylvania state police are investigating how a woman became trapped in a drainpipe at a closed power plant. Emergency crews in Greene County were called to FirstEnergy’s now-shuttered Hatfield Power Plant in Carmichaels on Monday morning. Trooper Forrest Allison says a worker was about to drain a pond on the property into the nearby Monongahela River when he heard the woman shouting from the drainpipe below. She was freed and taken to a hospital.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 16TH, 2019

 

TODAY – MORNING CLOUDS FOLLOWED BY AFTERNOON
SUNSHINE. HIGH – 63.

TONIGHT – SHOWERS THIS EVENING…THEN REMAINING
CLOUDY OVERNIGHT. LOW – 51.

WEDNESDAY – OVERCAST. SLIGHT CHANCE OF A RAIN
SHOWER. HIGH NEAR 70.

Post-Gazette earns Pulitzer for synagogue massacre coverage

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette won a Pulitzer Prize in breaking news Monday for its coverage of the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last year.
The judges called the staff’s work “immersive, compassionate coverage . that captured the anguish and resilience of a community thrust into grief.”
After the Pulitzer announcement, the newsroom observed a moment of silence for the 11 victims of the Oct. 27 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue building, where three congregations were holding Sabbath services when the attack occurred.
Now-retired executive editor David Shribman, who led the coverage, said he asked that the reaction remain subdued as reporters and editors hugged and congratulated each other.
“At times like this, we all realize why we were put on this Earth, to serve our community, to do our duty, and to redeem the value of the First Amendment,” he said in an interview.
“What we also remember are the deaths of 11 of our neighbors,” he said. “Every one of us would exchange this prize for the lives of those people.”
Andrew Goldstein was one of the first Post-Gazette reporters on the scene. He was home in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, near the synagogue, when an editor called.
“I said, ‘Oh, my God. I’m going.’ I jumped out of bed, threw on clothes, got into my car and flew down Shady Avenue to Tree of Life,” he said.
Goldstein said he was speechless when he heard of the Pulitzer win.
“It’s the greatest honor of my life. I’m so proud to be part of this newsroom,” he said.
But “you have to keep in mind why this has all happened,” he said. “My heart was broken on Oct. 27 and my heart is still broken. This (prize) does not heal the wound. This newsroom did the best we possibly could to bear witness to what certainly is the darkest day in Pittsburgh history.”
Newly appointed executive editor Keith Burris said the award highlights the importance of journalism.
“If we weren’t here, who would tell the story?” he said.
Prosecutors say the man awaiting trial in the attack made anti-Semitic statements before, during and afterward. He has pleaded not guilty, but his attorney has indicated she hopes to resolve the case without going to trial.
The Post-Gazette last won a Pulitzer in 1998, for spot news photography.

The iconic Muppets may be coming to a street near you
NEW YORK (AP) — Big Bird, Elmo and stars of “Sesame Street” are leaving their quiet neighborhood and embarking on a road trip.
The nonprofit Sesame Workshop said Tuesday a selection of Muppets will take part in a 10-city trip to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary campaign with free park festivals, live performances and kid-friendly activities.
Steve Youngwood, the chief operating officer of Sesame Workshop, says the tour is both “a nod to the work we’ve done and a nod to the work we’re going to do” but also “a celebration and reward to everyone who helped us get here.”
The Muppets will spend Friday-Sunday in each city, filming segments for the show with local kids and highlighting people and places important to the community. There also will be activities like a giant maze, a treasure dig, photo opportunities, sweepstakes and a cookies-and-milk snack station.
The tour starts June 1 in New York and then has Saturday celebrations in Washington, D.C., on June 8; Pittsburgh on June 15; Detroit on June 22; Chicago on June 29; Dallas on July 6; Kansas City on July 13; Denver on July 20; Seattle on July 27 and Los Angeles on Aug. 3.
“It brings together who we are — from the show to the local community organization to the fans — in a way that we had absolutely never done. It’s amazing. You think 50 years and things we’ve never done before: This level of local engagement in a comprehensive way is something we’ve never done. And we’re really, really excited.”
The 50th season of “Sesame Street” kicks off in November with a star-studded primetime special that will include new takes on classic segments and visits from “Sesame Street” icons.
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits